


The Sword Fighting Sorcerer

by gwaine_loves_apples



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Brief Mentions of Blood, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Season/Series 01, Pre-Season/Series 02, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwaine_loves_apples/pseuds/gwaine_loves_apples
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are out hunting on a peaceful spring day, that is, until Arthur started swinging his sword at Merlin.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 278





	The Sword Fighting Sorcerer

It was unusually warm for a spring day. The new growth of the forest was extremely vibrant in the afternoon sun, and birds were chorusing with ease as if the two men riding through the wood weren’t even there.  Merlin loved days like this. There was extreme comfort in knowing that no matter what happened in his life, the forest will continue to thrive and prosper as if it never knew anything different. He supposed it didn’t. He kept his horse in time with Arthurs, making it easy for him to strike up conversation whenever he felt persuaded to.  Sun filtered through the trees' new leaves, causing small patches of light to race over the dark, gleaming coat of Arthur’s horse, shine against the metal facets of his saddle and sword, and display the golden color of his hair. Merlin would sit and watch those irregular sun patches and shadows chase each other over Arthur for hours if he could. He couldn’t, of course, so he often pretended to be distracted with the path up ahead, even though it was boring compared to the view on his right. 

As awful as it was to hunt innocent creatures for sport, Merlin found these hunting trips to be priceless. The prince’s shoulders gradually lowered the farther away from the citadel they rode. His mood always became lighter, and his facial expressions more open. Merlin also secretly indulged in how many of the prince’s smiles were directed at him, and how many casual touches connected with his arm, back, neck, and just once, his cheek, although that interaction ended as quickly as it started. Regardless of duration each interaction left him brea-

“ _ Mer _ lin.” Arthur’s exasperated voice sent him crashing back down to earth. Arthur had stopped his horse several feet behind him, while Merlin’s was still slowly meandering up the path as he daydreamed. 

“Yes, sire?” Merlin quickly stopped his horse and slid off the saddle to face Arthur, trying to act casual despite the blush creeping up his neck. He was very thankful it was just the two of them and not the usual hunting party.

“We’re here.” He graciously ignored Merlin’s embarrassment, and slid off his own horse. They had come to a small open meadow, covered in grass that was still tender and flowers that hadn’t quite opened yet. Not Arthur’s typical spot for finding game.

“What exactly are we hunting here, sire?” Merlin tied the horses to a tree in the field where they could get to the fresh grass.

“Nothing. You’d scare off the game and complain about it the whole time, so what’s the point?” Arthur said with a self satisfied air. He brushed past Merlin, untied his “emergency sword” from the top of a saddle bag, and shoved it into his hands. 

“While I appreciate that, if we aren’t hunting then what are we doing here?” 

“Glad to hear you approve,” Arthur rolled his eyes. “Now draw your sword and hit me.” He walked deeper into the field, and turned around into a fighting stance. His sword was raised and his expression suddenly serious and focused. Any sane person would have been scared to be on the receiving end of such a glare. 

“Uh- no?” Merlin scrunched up his face in confusion as if Arthur had grown a third eye. That expression quickly turned into one of surprise as Arthur started running toward him, weapon in the air.  Merlin let out an undignified yell as he just barely got the sword in the air and awkwardly blocked Arthur’s heavy blow in time. 

“Have you lost your mind!?!?” Merlin tried to turn and run but the next blow came quickly and it was all he could do to not lose a limb. “Arthur!”

Arthur wasn’t listening and quickly disarmed him and shoved him on the ground. He looked angry. Merlin had no idea what started all of this. 

“Your stance is weak, your reflexes are slow and you're not even holding your sword with the proper grip. Thank the gods that you have magic Merlin because if you were ever in a real fight you’d be dead in seconds.” Arthur’s chest was rising and falling out of anger, but his eyes gave away his worry. 

“Arthur this is ridiculous, I do have magic, and let’s not forget that I save your sorry ass almost every time we leave the citadel!” Merlin shouted from the ground, completely exasperated by Arthur’s seemingly newfound and completely misplaced concern. 

Arthur just ignored him, and tossed his blunted, he now realized, blade at his feet. 

“Get up.” He was already crouched and held his blade in the air. 

“This is ridiculous,” Merlin groaned as he dragged himself back onto his feet and held the sword the best that he could in front of him. 

“You need to spread your legs out farther, and bend your knees more. Nothing will matter if you are unbalanced.” Merlin adjusted, and survived Arthur’s attempt to knock him over. 

“Never let go with your second hand Merlin, you don’t have the strength to wield it properly single handedly.” Merlin normally would argue back, but he didn’t want to induce any more strikes than necessary. “The grip needs to sit in the meat of your palms, and don’t hold it so tight that you can’t change it when necessary.” Arthur gave him a split second to adjust his grip before he advanced again. 

This went on for about an hour. Crashes and clanging echoed throughout the meadow. Arthur called out to him what to fix before he struck, and why he fell when he did (and he did, over, and over, and over again). Merlin finally had enough when Arthur had met his blade with enough force that it pushed him sideways and Arthur was able to kick him in the butt and knock him to the ground. 

“Get up.” Arthur kicked the bottom of Merlin’s shoe. 

“No,” Merlin kept his eyes shut. His body was sore and he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs to alleviate the stitch in his side. 

“Now!” Arthur was still upset. He roughly ran his fingers through the hair that was stuck to his sweaty forehead, and pulled his dampened shirt off of his chest while waiting for Merlin to rise. 

“Go train with someone your own size, you prat.” Merlin pulled for his last ounce of strength and gripped his sword once again. 

“You seem to have been missing the point,” Arthur huffed. Without any warning this time he quickly lunged at Merlin with more intensity than he was previously training Merlin with. This time Merlin successfully parried the attack and managed to advance towards Arthur. Arthur knocked it to the side easily, and then hit Merlin with a series of rapid diagonal cuts. Merlin managed to block each one but was slowly being pushed backwards into the tree line.

“Bandits, won’t care if they're bigger than you”  _ clang _ .

“Soldiers, won’t care if you’re just a servant”  _ clang. _

“Assassins, won’t care if you’re a good person”  _ clang. _

He pushed forward until Merlin’s back was against a large tree trunk. Arthur swung his sword horizontally at Merlin’s head. Merlin raised his just in time to block it. It took all his strength to keep Arthur from getting closer. Even if the blade was blunted, this fight had turned into one of pride, and he wasn't about to lose. Arthur managed to lean in closer, face inches away from Merlin, his gaze was so piercing Merlin thought it might burn through him. Merlin swallowed, becoming very uncomfortable under the scrutiny, but he didn’t look away either. Both were sweating and breathing hard but neither relented. 

“I know you have magic,” Arthur panted quietly, “but you can’t rely on it with the knights around. They are loyal to my father. Not to me. I can’t have you risking your life because you have no choice but to use it.” Arthur lowered his sword but stood his ground. “You got hurt last week on patrol, and I’ll never forgive myself if it happens again. You need to learn how to properly defend yourself.” Arthur’s worried look from earlier returned to his face. 

_ Oh. _ So this is what the training was about. His irritation towards Arthur melted away.

“Arthur, it was just a scratch…” Merlin raised his eyebrows, surprised to hear that Arthur was still upset about it.

“You bled through three different bandages before you got to Gaius. It was more than a scratch,” Arthur huffed. “And what if next time it isn’t just a scratch, or what if you get caught using your magic? I don’t know what I would do with myself if something happened to you.” He gripped Merlin’s shoulders and continued searching his eyes with distress. “Promise me you’ll be more careful.”

Merlin let out a small sigh. Hearing how much Arthur worried about him made his heart squeeze. He would give his life to protect Arthur, and his destiny wasn't only reason why. He had no idea that Arthur had cared that much about him. And now he was so  _ close _ . Normally when he experienced feelings for Arthur he could physically distance himself and hide his blush, but here there was no room for escape. The other man’s grip was searing even through his shirt, and he couldn’t help but notice how close his beautiful lips were to his. 

“Arthur, it is my destiny to protect you and make sure that you become the great king that you were always meant to be. Nothing will stop me from seeing that happen.” Merlin smiled lightly, but his eyes remained serious, reassuring Arthur that he meant every word. 

“Good.” Arthur gave a curt nod and upon noticing that he still had Merlin pinned against a tree, loosened the grip on his arms and started to back away. Merlin panicked knowing that this moment was rapidly coming to a close. Without thinking, he quickly leaned in and pressed a kiss onto Arthurs lips. It was polite, but there was no mistaking Merlin's intentions. After a second he backed himself up against the tree again and opened his eyes. Arthur looked shocked with his mouth slightly parted and eyes wide. Merlin let out a small laugh. 

The next thing he knew, Arthur closed the distance between them and fiercely kissed Merlin back. Arthur had thrown his hand behind Merlin’s head so that it wouldn’t hit the tree bark. The other landed onto Merlin’s chest, as if he was afraid of him moving even an inch. Merlin moaned as Arthur ran his tongue over his lower lip and then deepened the kiss. Their kisses became quicker, more desperate, as if both of them were craving this for a long time. Merlin nipped at Arthur’s lip, which resulted in a deep sound awfully similar to a growl. Instead of pushing his weight into Merlin, Arthur quickly moved and wrapped his arms around his back and pulled him flush with his body. Merlin’s hands found Arthur’s hair, and the response made him shiver. They went on like this until they were out of breath and seeing stars. Both panting, they placed their foreheads together. 

“We’ll have to train regularly in order to maintain your skills,” Arthur said in a rough voice, pretending to be serious but missing it by a mile. 

Merlin grinned, still out of breath. “I’ll train with you every day if this is how it ends.” Arthur threw his head back and laughed, more beautiful than the spring day itself.  It didn’t take long for Merlin to gain proficient skills with Arthur as his teacher, but that didn’t stop them from coming to the meadow for many years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you've made it this far thanks for reading! I have never written a sword fight before so I would greatly appreciate any feedback on how to make it more accurate! (or any suggestions for my writing at all for that matter)


End file.
